Carlos Acosta looks at a photograph of himself as a seven-year-old – sporting a glum expression and wonky tie – with nostalgic affection. Back then, he was a bit of a tearaway, living with his parents and two sisters and not much of anything else in the suburbs of Havana. Then his truck-driver father decided to keep him off the streets by sending him – against his will – to ballet classes.

Now 40, the charismatic Cuban is regarded as one of the greatest classical dancers of our age. He shakes his head with amusement – even now it must be hard to absorb all that has happened to him, despite his documenting it for his 2007 autobiography, No Way Home.

Divine dance talent and an insatiable curiosity have brought Acosta to where he is now: a Royal Ballet principal dancer, who has performed with companies around the world and whose bold physicality, legendary turbo-powered leaps and empathetic character portrayals means he sells out theatres routinely. He’s also a choreographer whose new work – a version of the classic ballet Don Quixote – has opened to great fanfare at the Royal Opera House.

‘I haven’t had time to feel pleased about that,’ he admits, looking shattered. ‘It’s like a wheel, everything’s just…’ he mimes a spinning motion. ‘You need a break to go through what’s happened.’ Now he’s added novelist and leading film actor to his list of achievements.

His novel, Pig’s Foot, started garnering attention months before publication when it was picked as one of the most important literary debuts of the year by Waterstones. The fantastical tale, which plays out against the backdrop of Cuba’s turbulent history – from the 1800s to the 1990s – is related by Oscar Mandinga; an irascible, opinionated, increasingly unreliable narrator who regularly breaks away to hurl abuse at the reader.

Pata de Puerco (the ‘pig’s foot’ of the title) is Acosta’s imaginary village in the Cuban countryside, founded by ex-slaves and isolated from the rapid pace of change in the rest of the country, where most of Oscar’s family’s colourful saga plays out.

‘It took me about three years to write; the autobiography took ten,’ he says, though that was largely because he never backed up his work and his computer crashed twice. ‘But this one I did in my dressing room, mostly; whenever I would go on tour, I would take my computer with me and in between stage calls… it was a good escape.’

Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta and Zenaida Yanowsky (Picture: Getty)

There are dark themes in the book, too – about racism, politics and schizophrenia. His half-sister Berta, who died two years ago, and an aunt suffered with the condition.

‘I wanted to do something with that because I was very marked from a young age by it,’ he says. ‘It was hard to deal with. I just wanted to take the subject on and pay homage to my family members.’

The book is a bit racy, too, I offer. ‘What is “racy”?’ Acosta inquires. Erm, kind of sexy. ‘Oh yeah?’ he laughs wickedly. There is a lot of sex in it, I say. ‘Well, as you would expect… the Caribbean, the sun…’

Acosta thinks the story could make a terrific film. His autobiography is being adapted for the big screen, he reveals. In the meantime, Day Of The Flowers – a rather sweet, gently amusing, Cuba-set British romcom – sees him play a tour-guide/ballet dancer who wins the heart of the prickly Scottish protagonist (played by Eva Birthistle), sweeping her off her feet with some sultry salsa moves.

Acosta is still dancing but the glorious classical dance career must come to an end soon. He has been experimenting with contemporary dance, his choreography will continue and he’s sketching ideas for a new novel. ‘I want to bring the characters to London; immigration laws allow Cubans to leave now and it would be good to explore some peasant people going to a metropolis.’

His plan to return to live in Cuba has been adapted: Acosta is a father now and he will marry his fiancée, Charlotte, next year. He’s also keeping an eye on Yonah, his ballet dancer nephew, at English National Ballet. ‘We’ll split our time between Cuba and here – England is going to stay a part of my life,’ he says.

His other grand project is 100 per cent in Havana: Acosta intends to create a new dance academy in the Cuban capital. The plan is to save the ruins of a ballet school and set up as a not-for-profit charity. Architect Norman Foster has endorsed the project and, after years of controversy around touching a national monument, Acosta says the government is backing him.

‘But we need a lot of money,’ he says. ‘Anyone who wants to give from £1million upwards, please, I’m your man. We need £7million altogether. Actually, I’d accept £100,000 as well.’ He flashes his famous grin again. With fundraising skills like that, how could anyone refuse him?

Pig’s Foot (Bloomsbury, £14.99) is published tomorrow. Day Of The Flowers is in cinemas from November 29.